I’m pleased to say that Hunting the Dark, Moth’s second full-length adventure, is finally available as an ebook:

You’ll be able to find it in most countries, but I’m sorry to say that I might have misunderstood the situation re. North America. At the moment, it’s looking like Hunting the Dark is NOT available in the US. However, I’m not giving up hope and will be looking into it as soon as offices open again for business next week. I was under the impression that it would at least be available through Amazon (like Falling to Ash is), but so far it’s not listed. I tend to forget that Falling to Ash was originally only sold to the UK, with an international (inc. US) edition made available much later on – in early 2014. Of course, all of this is out of my hands but I’ll do what I can to clarify. I’m sorry for any disappointment caused to readers in North America. I know you guys love Moth, too!

More news as I have it, but for now I hope those who can get the book enjoy the many scrapes Moth gets into!

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http://www.kazmahoney.com/2014/12/15/moth-monday-2/#commentsMon, 15 Dec 2014 19:18:41 +0000http://www.kazmahoney.com/?p=7638Continue reading →]]>
As I said last week, I’m going to devote the last few Mondays before the release of HUNTING THE DARK to blog posts about All Things Moth. Because, after waiting more than two years since FALLING TO ASH, it’s nice to finally be talking about my girl again.

Something I get asked a lot is: Kaz, why did you choose to set Falling to Ash in Boston when you are, in fact, English and based in the UK?

The straightforward answer is kind of boring. It’s just that I love Boston and couldn’t not set Moth’s adventures there. Marie O’Neal (as Moth was born) is a girl from an Irish-Catholic family (hey, like me!), so it seemed like Boston would be a good place to choose if I wanted to write something set in the US. Which I did. You probably noticed that The Iron Witch books are also set in Massachusetts – I might have made up the large town of Ironbridge, but it is loosely based on a combination of Boston and London. Or at least on the parts that I know.

The first time I went to Boston was in the Fall of 2002. My mum and I had a brilliant holiday together, and we both just fell in love with the city. Everything about it was magical. And, yes, I know that sounds totally whimsical and (maybe even) a little over the top, but I can’t help myself. I have plenty of American friends who say how much they’d love to live in London, and I look at them like they are a bit strange. Probably there are plenty of Bostonians who’d think the same about me for loving their city quite as much as I do. But… there you have it. Something about the place just spoke to me. We went again of course. That time was during the winter so we saw Boston under more snow than I’ve ever seen in my life! It was just as beautiful – if cold – and showed us another side of the city.

Here’s part of a scene/flashback that appears in HUNTING THE DARK. The setting is a secret spot that I sat in myself, 12 years ago, and I just knew that this had to be where Moth first met Theo…

Sitting by the Charles River (2002)

Excerpt from Hunting the Dark:

Theo didn’t seem to be in a hurry to talk about much of anything at all.

His eyes gleamed silver in the half-light, and I watched him as I thought of the very first night we met. I picked at the memory like a scab, afraid that if I let it heal it might fade forever and not even leave a scar.

Some memories are both painful and necessary.

I am sitting in my favorite spot along the Charles River, watching the sailboats and a lone canoe heading back to harbor. The air is still and the sunset perfect. My sketchpad lies beside me on the slatted bench. I came out here to escape, but I don’t feel like drawing right now. All I can think about is Mom and the news we got from her oncologist – yet more bad news.

I become peripherally aware of someone sitting at the other end of my bench. Joining me, but giving me the illusion of space. I stiffen, refusing to turn my head to see who has disturbed my peace.

‘May I?’ A low voice, smooth and filled with warmth.

I look at my uninvited guest, wishing I had the right to ask him to leave. His hand is resting on the closed cover of my sketchpad, and his face is tilted in question as he regards me curiously. I realize that he is asking about my drawings rather than whether or not I mind him joining me.

Holy crap, I think. Holy crap, he looks like an angel. Or maybe more like a devil, with hair as dark as mine and a black suit that seems to flow with every movement of his lithe body. I have never seen anyone who looks quite like this. He could be a model, a movie star . . . or something else entirely.

* * *

Next week I probably won’t manage a #MothMonday post, but I’ll be back on Monday 29th December with the third of this mini-series – see you then, if you’re looking for a little distraction between Christmas and New Year.

Happy Holidays to all!

Kaz
x

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http://www.kazmahoney.com/2014/12/08/moth-monday-1/#commentsMon, 08 Dec 2014 20:24:34 +0000http://www.kazmahoney.com/?p=7624Continue reading →]]>
So, now that our #MiniNaNo check-ins have finished, I decided that I might as well continue blogging on the few Mondays that remain between now and the release of HUNTING THE DARK on 1st January, 2015.*

CHAPTER TITLES

I thought it would be fun to share some of the chapter titles for the novel.

Book One, Falling to Ash, didn’t actually have chapter headings, but for some reason this second book just seemed to ‘want’ them. Or need them. I don’t know… I try not to get too ‘magical thinking’ about the writing process, but there’s no denying that some things just happen and I have no idea why. In this case, chapter headings just… happened. As Hunting the Dark is the very first book I’ve ever written that even has chapter titles… you can check them out below! (With a few redacted for possible spoilers, but out of context like this they are mostly non-spoilery until we get towards the end.)

The most frequently asked question I get about the new book is to do with its availability. Yes, as explained in this blog post here it will only be released as an ebook, but the good news is that you shouldn’t have too much trouble buying it – depending on where you live. I checked with my publisher re. which countries Hunting the Dark will be available in – and in what ebook formats – and really it turns out that it is most of them. The answer I got (along with a huge list of all kinds of retailers and distributors that I’d never even heard of) was something along the lines of:

It will be available through near enough all major ebook retailers across the world, barring North America.

I’d suggest just checking with the ebook retailer you generally use – whichever country you’re in. I’m pleased that Moth’s second full-length adventure will be available pretty widely, all over the world. I’m still trying to clarify the US situation, but hopefully I can find out what’s happening there soon.

In next week’s #MothMonday I’m going to be talking about the Boston setting, and why I decided to set both Falling to Ash and Hunting the Dark there. If you have any other questions in the meantime, do let me know and I’ll also answer them – whether it’s here or on Twitter or Facebook.

—
*I may end up missing Monday 22nd December due to Life Stuff**, but either I’ll just skip that one or will post another day during the week if I can.

**What is this Life Stuff you keep speaking of, Kaz? You might be able to guess – and it’s not really a big secret or anything, considering what I’ve talked about on Twitter over the past few months – but I just don’t want to jinx anything right now. Also, I try not to go on about personal stuff too much online. Do I always succeed? No.

Aaaand… that’s a wrap! (Sorry this is a day late. Technical problems!)

So, that’s the end of NaNoWriMo – and the end of our #MiniNaNo – for another year. I am pleased to say that despite a couple of tough days last week, I more than made up for it by writing a lot at the weekend and finished with a very respectable…

20,000 words

Yay! That is a very approximate word count as I wrote all of it longhand. However, if anything I am under-estimating so I feel pretty confident in saying I have at least 20K. Considering that my minimum goal for the month was 15K, I am very happy with where I ended up. It would have been awesome to write more, but with everything currently going on in Life I still think that 20,000 words (in longhand, too!) is something close to a miracle.

More important than the number of words, I actually like what I’ve written. Not the words themselves, in terms of craft – because most of them are very rough and sucky – but the story and characters seem to be working okay. I think there’s quite a lot of potential in the project, which is all I can really ask for at this stage. I’m looking forward to typing it all up (editing/adding/cutting as I go along) and really seeing what I have. It will hopefully be a good foundation to build on.

So, how did you get on this month? I hope you’re happy with whatever you’ve written – no matter how many words you produced, remember that just writing anything at all is an achievement!

I’ve enjoyed blogging each week throughout November, and am going to try my best to continue that in December. Look for Moth Mondays as we build toward the ebook publication of Hunting the Dark in January 2015. I’m sure I can find something Moth-related to ramble on about every Monday for a few weeks…

That’s the Very Stylish ebook cover of Moth’s second novel: HUNTING THE DARK!! (Coming to an e-reader near you at the beginning of January.) I have to say that it looks fantastic on both my phone and my Kindle, so I am pleased that Random House did their best to find an artistic compromise between the prequel e-story (‘Moth’), and of course the first novel, FALLING TO ASH.

Here’s the official blurb, which is a bit vague I suppose. But trust me: this is darker, more action-packed, and more romantic than Book One. Also, despite how dark it gets for poor Moth at times, it is probably one of the most hopeful books I’ve ever written. Hmm… That sounds strange, but I guess you’ll just have to read it to find out what I mean.

Moth’s adventures in the dark and twisted underworld of modern-day Boston continue in this thrilling sequel to Falling to Ash.

Once bitten . . . never shy

Adjusting to life as a vampire hasn’t been easy for Moth. Torn between her family and her maker Theo, Moth spends her time running from one deadly situation to the next.

That’s not her only problem. There’s a killer on the loose and no vampire is safe. Even worse, the prime suspect is Jace Murdoch, Moth’s friend and one-time crush.

He is in serious danger. Moth needs to hunt down the killer before Jace is destroyed.

Time is running out and the darkness is closing in . . .

* * *

Okay, back to the #MiniNaNo update for this week. Our fourth and final week(!) – but I will do another check-in post next Monday to wrap things up and see what totals we finished with.

I somehow managed to increase my output this past week, despite a lot going on outside of writing. I’m still working in longhand, so really big word counts are out of reach for me, but despite that I just hit… *drumroll*

15,000 words

*confetti*

Which means I’ve reached my minimum goal a week early. I am thrilled and, quite frankly, amazed! I’m now tempted to dust off my trusty Alphasmart for the final push and try my hardest to write 5,000 words by the end of the week. I’d love to check in on Monday with 20K, but I don’t want to get my hopes up as all kinds of things could potentially get in the way – plus I’ve been having a few migraines, lately. (What else is new, Kaz? I hear you ask.) I am, however, loving this new YA book. I think I’d like to just write the whole thing on-spec, and worry about whether it’s something I could actually sell much later on. This project is all about me trying to remember that creating something just for the pleasure of creation is very much worthwhile.

So, I am doing pretty well and have learned that sometimes it pays to revise your goals and aim a little lower – especially when you know that Life is going to be challenging. How are you doing? Let me know in comments…

Just a quick update today. We’re officially on Day 17 of NaNoWriMo – and of course Day 17 of this cut down version of the challenge. How are you getting on? Are you still with me? Do you like what you’re writing?

By the end of today I should be at around 9,000 words to be on target for my minimum goal of 15,000 words for the month (500 words per day). We’re just over halfway! I think I might be a tiny bit ahead of schedule – but that’s good as I am writing longhand at the moment so some days are more of a struggle than others. It would be nice to edge closer to 20K, but I’m not going to pressure myself. All progress is good progress. I might make that my new mantra. Maybe I’ll try using my Alphasmart again later in the week, to speed things up, but at the moment the notebook and pen are beckoning…

I’ll try to post a pic of my star calendar next week – or at the very end, when we’re all finished. We’ve got two more check-ins to go. (I will definitely post a final one on Monday, 1st December to look at totals.)

So, Monday 10th November took us to Day 10 of NaNoWriMo – or, at least, Day 10 of my extremely modified version of it. If you’re still with me, how are you getting on with your goals?

For me, I have definitely let go of the hope that I’ll get anywhere near the ‘dream goal’ of 30K that I set. I’d hoped to write somewhere between 15,000 and 30,000 words, with 15K being my minimum. I am actually (amazingly) on track with the minimum goal right now, but I’m pretty sure I won’t be managing to produce more words than that. The month is indeed shaping up to be full of Life Stuff – as I suspected it would be – and I feel very pleased to even be getting anything done on this new project. So my current total, for 10 days, is 5,000 words. Yay! It was touch and go to begin with, and I did have to do a couple of ‘catch up’ sessions, but hopefully I’ll be better at writing a little each day from now on. Not convinced about that, though, as I’m also working on HUNTING THE DARK ebook proofs…

Here’s my progress calendar, with each star representing 500 words written. You can see I didn’t write anything at all for the first two days, but I’m still doing okay:

Trying this is interesting, though. I really had hoped to consistently write 500 words per day, but it’s more like… no writing on some days, and then 1000 words on others to make up for it. Oh well, I’ll keep going and do my best. You do the same, too. As I said on Twitter the other day:

If #NaNoWriMo makes you feel bad try something else. Writing leaves us all feeling like failures anyway. Do things that you find supportive.

So! This is not really an official ‘check in’ post, because NaNoWriMo – and my mini version (details here if you want to join in) – only really started two days’ ago. And those two days took place over a weekend, when not everyone can write as much as they might like to. (Though, of course, it can also be an excellent opportunity for those with Monday-Friday day jobs.)

I’ll put up a check-in post every Monday – including the final one on Monday, 1st December, which works out perfectly to see how we all did at the end of the four weeks (30 days).

For me, I knew I wouldn’t get much done on Saturday (though I did manage plenty of thinking about my project and wrote a few notes). Then yesterday was supposed to be a day when I’d write 1,000 words to get ‘caught up’… but I had major technical problems, which ended up swallowing the whole afternoon and evening. SIGH.

Which leaves me about to jump in for the first time right now. I’m hoping for that first 1K today, then if I write another 1,000 words tomorrow I’ll be caught up to my minimum goal of 500 words per day. Good luck – whether you’re joining me with #MiniNaNo or doing the full challenge.

See you back here next Monday, 10th November, and on Twitter in the meantime!

]]>http://www.kazmahoney.com/2014/11/03/mini-nano-2014-week-one/feed/2Mini-NaNo 2014http://www.kazmahoney.com/2014/10/27/mini-nano-2014/
http://www.kazmahoney.com/2014/10/27/mini-nano-2014/#commentsMon, 27 Oct 2014 21:17:10 +0000http://www.kazmahoney.com/?p=7554Continue reading →]]> So. Guess what? It’s that time of year again. Yes, it’s time to get your NaNoWriMo on – if that’s something you like to do.

I have had very mixed results with my (many) attempts at NaNo. I talked about it a little last year, and in more detail back in 2011. Despite my generally positive feelings toward the writing challenge, I am NOT signing up officially in 2014.

Basically, Life is crazy busy and I know that getting anywhere close to writing 50,000 words next month is nothing short of madness. So I’ve decided to do my own ‘mini-NaNo’ (something I’ve done in the past with the various KazNo writing things I’ve run here on the blog – although I’m not calling it that this year). I have a brand new YA project whispering in my ear, and I think I’d like to try writing at least some words in November – otherwise there is a very good chance that all that Life Stuff will take over and I won’t write anything at all.

In the interests of keeping myself accountable/inspiring myself, here is what I am aiming for:

At best, I think I could hit a high of 30,000 words.
(Honestly, I still don’t think I’ll manage this, especially if certain things in Real Life shake out a certain way. Everything could come off the rails. But I will attempt this as my absolute Dream Goal.)

However, because I know that even reaching 30K is hopeful, I’m going to set a minimum goal of 15,000 words for the month.

That way, I can aim for a minimum of 500 words per day, just to keep my head in the story – just to keep the project moving forward a little.

I’m going to use my own version of Victoria Schwab’s ‘Star Sticker System’ for November to help keep me on track. I already have a calendar – and stickers (pink and purple, because they make me smile), with each sticker representing 500 words written. So I’m good to go!

All that remains is for me to finish figuring out at least the basics of the story I’m going to tell. I have characters and setting and conflict. Kind of lacking in actual plot, but hopefully that’s what I’ll address this week – before starting Actual Words on Saturday, 1st Nov.

Good luck if you are participating in the full NaNoWriMo. I wish you much inspiration, speedy writing, and as many words as you can comfortably manage!

If you’d like to join me in my mini-NaNo (anywhere between 15K and 30K for the month), let me know in comments. We can cheer each other on, and I’ll make sure to post weekly updates.